Say What?

I found a very interesting article that puts the answers from Rick Warren's McCain and Obama interviews side-by-side.

Q:THERE ARE 148 MILLION ORPHANS IN THE WORLD GROWING UP WITHOUT PARENTS. WHAT SHOULD WE DO ABOUT THIS AND WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO CONSIDER OR EVEN COMMIT TO SOMETHING SIMILAR TO THE PRESIDENT'S EMERGENCY PLAN FOR AIDS, WHICH HE SAID AIDS IS AN EMERGENCY AT PEPFAR. COULD WE DO A PEPFAR FOR THE EMERGENCY PLAN FOR 148 MILLION ORPHANS? MOST OF THESE, THEY DON'T NEED TO GROW UP IN ORPHANAGES, THEY NEED TO BE IN FAMILIES AND MANY OF THOSE FAMILIES COULD TAKE THEM IN IF THEY HAD SOME KIND OF ASSISTANCE.

OBAMA: I CHEATED A LITTLE BIT. I ACTUALLY LOOKED AT THIS IDEA AHEAD OF TIME AND I THINK IT IS A -- I THINK IT'S A GREAT IDEA. I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD SIT DOWN AND FIGURE OUT WORKING BETWEEN NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS, INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS, THE US GOVERNMENT, TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT CAN WE DO. I THINK THAT PART OF OUR PLAN THOUGH HAS TO BE HOW DO WE PREVENT MORE ORPHANS IN THE FIRST PLACE AND THAT MEANS THAT WE'RE HELPING TO BUILD THE PUBLIC HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE AROUND THE WORLD, THAT WE ARE YOU KNOW BUILDING ON THE GREAT WORK THAT YOU AND, BY THE WAY, THIS PRESIDENT HAS DONE WHEN IT COMES TO AIDS FUNDING AROUND THE WORLD. I THINK YOU KNOW I'M OFTEN A CRITIC OF PRESIDENT BUSH BUT I THINK THE PETFAR PROGRAM HAS SAVED LIVES AND HAS DONE VERY GOOD WORK AND HE DESERVES ENORMOUS CREDIT FOR THAT. WARREN RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION, WHAT DO YOU THINK THE US SHOULD DO TO END RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION FOR INSTANCE IN CHINA, IN IRAQ AND IN MANY OF OUR ALLIES. I'M NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANITY, PARTICUALLY WITH THE PERSECUTION AROUND THE WORLD THAT PERSECUTES MILLIONS OF PEOPLE? OBAMA WELL, I THINK THE FIRST THING WE HAVE TO DO IS TO BEAR WITNESS AND SPEAK OUT AND NOT PRETEND THAT IT'S NOT TAKING PLACE. YOU KNOW OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH CHINA FOR EXAMPLE IS A VERY COMPLICATED ONE. WE'RE TRADING PARTNERS UNFORTUNATELY THEY ARE NOW LENDERS TO US BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T BEEN TAKING CARE OF OUR ECONOMY THE WAY WE NEED TO BE. I DON'T THINK ANY OF US WANT TO SEE MILITARY CONFLICT WITH CHINA SO WE WANT TO MANAGE THIS RELATIONSHIP AND MOVE THEM INTO THE WORLD COMMUNITY AS A FULL PARTNER BUT WE CAN'T PURCHASE THAT BY IGNORING THE VERY REAL PERSECUTIONS THAT ARE TAKING PLACE. AND SO HAVING ADMINISTRATION THAT'S SPEAKING OUT, JOINING IN INTERNATIONAL FORUMS WHERE WE CAN POINT OUT HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES AND THE ABSENCE OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, THAT I THINK IS ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL. OVER TIME, WHAT WE ARE DOING IS SETTING UP NEW NORMS AND CREATING A UNIVERSAL PRINCIPLE THAT PEOPLE'S FAITH AND PEOPLE'S BELIEFS HAVE TO BE PROTECTED AND AS YOU SAID, IT'S NOT JUST CHRISTIANS. WE'VE GOT TO MAKE SURE -- ONE THING THAT I THINK IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR US TO DO ON ALL THESE ISSUES IS TO LEAD BY EXAMPLE. THAT'S WHY I THINK IT'S SO IMPORTANT FOR US TO HAVE RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE HERE IN THE UNITED STATES. THAT'S WHY IT'S SO IMPORTANT FOR US WHEN WE ARE CRITICIZING OTHER COUNTRIES ABOUT RULE OF LAW TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ABIDING BY RULE OF LAW AND HABEAS CORPUS AND WE'RE NOT ENGAGING IN TORTURE BECAUSE THAT GIVES US A MORE OR LESS STANDARD TO TALK ABOUT THESE OTHER ISSUES. WARREN OKAY. ANOTHER ISSUE, THE THIRD LARGEST AND THE FASTEST GROWING CRIMINAL INDUSTRY IN THE WORLD IS HUMAN TRAFFICKING. $32 BILLION A YEAR, LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T KNOW THAT THERE ARE ABOUT 27 MILLION PEOPLE LIVING IN SLAVERY RIGHT NOW, MANY THEM IN SEX TRAFFIC, BUT IN OTHERS. HOW DO WE SPEAK OUT AND HOW DO YOU PLAN TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT? OBAMA THIS HAS TO BE A TOP PRIORITY. THIS IS AN AREA WHERE WE'VE ALREADY BIPARTISAN AGREEMENT ON THIS ISSUE. WHAT WE HAVE TO DO IS TO CREATE BETTER, MORE EFFECTIVE TOOLS FOR PROSECUTING THOSE WHO ARE ENGAGING IN HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND WE HAVE TO DO THAT WITHIN OUR COUNTRY. SADLY, THERE ARE THOUSANDS WHO ARE TRAPPED IN VARIOUS FORMS OF ENSLAVEMENT HERE IN OUR COUNTRY, OFTENTIMES YOUNG WOMEN WHO ARE CAUGHT UP IN PROSTITUTION. SO WE'VE GOT TO GIVE PROSECUTERS THE TOOLS TO CRACK DOWN ON THESE HUMAN TRAFFICKING NETWORKS. INTERNATIONALLY WE'VE GOT TO SPEAK OUT AND WE'VE GOT TO FORGE ALLIANCES WITH OTHER COUNTRIES TO SHARE INTELLIGENCE TO ROLL UP THE FINANCING NETWORKS THAT ARE INVOLVED IN THEM. IT IS A DEBASEMENT OF OUR COMMON HUMANITY WHENEVER WE SEE SOMETHING LIKE THAT TAKING PLACE.


McCain: WELL I THINK WE HAVE TO MAKE ADOPTION A LOT EASIER IN THIS COUNTRY. THAT'S WHY SO MANY PEOPLE GO TO OTHER COUNTRIES TO GET -- TO BE ABLE TO ADOPT CHILDREN. MY GREAT HERO AND ROLE MODEL TEDDY ROOSEVELT WAS THE FIRST MODERN AMERICAN PRESIDENT TO TALK ABOUT ADOPTION AND HOW IMPORTANT IT WAS AND PROMISE YOU THIS IS MY LAST STORY. 17 YEARS AGO CINDY WAS IN SHE WENT TO MOTHER TERESA'S ORPHANAGE. THE NUNS BROUGHT HER TWO LITTLE BABIES THAT WERE NOT GOING TO LIVE. CINDY CAME HOME. I MET HER AT THE AIRPLANE. SHE SHOWED ME THIS 5 WEEK OLD BABY AND SAID MEET YOUR NEW DAUGHTER. SHE IS 17 AND OUR LIFE IS BLESSED AND THAT'S WHAT ADOPTION IS ALL ABOUT.


To read the whole article, go here.